A. Luchuensis Spores
From: 7,50€
A. Luchuensis, like Black Koji, is a special type of Koji which is traditionally used for making Shochu, a distilled drink.
This kind of Koji has gotten a lot of attention since it has been praised so much in the Noma Guide to Fermentation. To quote from the book: “[…] its flavor is remarkable, reminiscent of green apple and lemons. We were thrilled at Noma when we came across this special mold, because the citric acid it produces brings a sharp layer of contrast to the umami-rich flavor of koji.”
When you grow this Koji, please be aware that it can be overpowered by its more famous cousin, A. Oryzae. For this reason I recommend that you use trays/cloths that you have not used with A. Oryzae before (or clean/sterilize your equipment well) in order to avoid cross-contamination.
This is the albino version of A. Luchuensis.
It grows best on barley. Be aware that it prefers slightly lower temperatures than normal Koji. That is: 28°C instead of 30°C.
| Weight | 1,75 g |
|---|---|
| Amount | For 5 kg, For 50 kg, For 200 kg |
| hsnumber | 2102101090 |
Vanessa Urben (verified owner) –
Trying miso with this one now, very suprising taste. I love lemons what can I say..
N Decker (verified owner) –
Very viable product that was true to type. Performed well and lived up to my hopes. Thank you for offering this product!
M.M. Janssen (verified owner) –
Very lively spores. Received order within a few days.
M.M. Janssen (verified owner) –
Very lively spores. Received order within a few days.
Mamboline (verified owner) –
Dennis (verified owner) –
Kim Jensen (verified owner) –
Jacob Petersen (verified owner) –
Philippe Castagner (verified owner) –
Really cool. I probably won’t be growing it regularly but I’m glad I tried it.
ilaria Zappi (verified owner) –
artur orjuhovschii (verified owner) –
Delphine Rehfuss (verified owner) –
João Alves (verified owner) –
Raphaël Gétaz (verified owner) –
James Sherwin (verified owner) –
Great product, quick delivery
Askan Worms (verified owner) –
jere Vihervaara (verified owner) –
Maxim Faber (verified owner) –
Claudia Liliana Quiroz Ramirez (verified owner) –
Eric Morris (verified owner) –
Walter (verified owner) –
Compared with spores directly imported from Japan, the Japanese spores were not only much cheaper, but also more efficient. I inoculated with the usual amount of spores, but the fungus spread and grew slower and less dense than my earlier batches.
jay ciccarelli (verified owner) –
Anna Williams (verified owner) –
Αriadni Portokaloglou (verified owner) –
Sharon Roberts –
My customer experience with Viktor and Christine continues to be outstanding. I reiterate the above customer comments. My first attempt was 8 months ago and the results are in a cool cupboard and continue to get more and more delicious. I teach sourdough and have worked as a professional cook and have an interest in all food, worldwide. Nothing prepared me for such an exciting discovery as working with spores and discovering the depths of umami. I can highly recommend Viktor and Christine’s cashew nut miso and pumpkin seed miso. I now have Natto on the go and can’t wait.
Benjamin Ronald Moebius (verified owner) –
This A. Luchuensis koji is pretty rare so I was so happy to see it on this site! The koji kin are quite powerful – I only used a maybe 1/4 teaspoon to inoculate 800 grams of barley. With the koji, I made citric koji water which we use in Japanese recipes as a stand in for sake, though the flavor profile is more sour (like a wonderfully ripe grapefruit) but still with a lot of sugar. Then we use it in western recipes as a stand in for white wine, where it is exceptional!
Max Mönch (verified owner) –
This spores are amazing. If you look for the fancy NOMA book recipes. Go for this strain. With pearled barley it develops a strong aroma of lemon and apples as described above. You will not be disappointed…
Matt (verified owner) –
I used about 1/4 of the spore packet to innoculate about 1kg of steamed pearled barley. Not much activity at 24 hrs but after a stir and 12 more hours (36 total) there was a nice even layer of white fluffy mold. Based on the directions from the noma guide I harvested and chilled the batch at that point. I agree with the tasting notes of green apple and lemon, fairly tart. Aroma was not as strong or tropical as previous batches with a light aspergillus oryzae strain.
I used the Koji to make some amazake with some wheat berries. Equal portions wheat and Koji. The aroma from that was really interesting, like a baked apple and honey. The flavor was more simple, fairly tart with apple and lemon. Really interesting to experiment if you want some acidity in your ferment.